Rootstock Has Announced This Year’s Natural Wine and Food Line-Up

Try dishes from Fratelli Paradiso with wines from Italy’s Occhipinti and Farnea.

Photography: Michael Wickham

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Photography: Michael Wickham

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Photography: Michael Wickham

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Published on 07 September 2017

by Luke Misthos

Rootstock, Australia’s favourite sustainable wine and food festival, returns to Carriageworks for its fifth year this November. Co-founders James Hird (The Dolphin) and Giorgio De Maria have created a festival that spotlights sustainable, biodynamic and organic wine. The event also includes music, talks and art that promotes organic farming practices.

Wine writer Mike Bennie and Linda and Matt young of Black Market Sake are also involved. They too want to spark conversation about sustainable food and wine in Australia.

“Rootstock Sydney is unique because it promotes farmers and producers, not sales people,” says Hird. “The goal is to create a dialogue about food, wine and sustainability.”

The not-for-profit event will run across two days and showcase a mix of international and local wines. Sip and spit (or just sip) wine from Pheasant’s Tears Winery in Georgia, as well as a range from the Occhipinti and Farnea winery in Italy, which will be served in local Plumm glassware. Australian producers such as Shobbrook, Ochota Barrels, Lucy Margaux and Hochkirch will also feature on the menu. Enjoy the first vintage by young winemaker Mark Werner from Borachio, and try break-out vintner Jordy Kay’s from Chevre Wines.

New to this year’s event is the Rootstock Collective Kitchen, which will run with minimal impact to the environment and be open to the public.

This year’s festival will continue to promote and fundraise for the Indigenous agricultural program Gurandgi Munji, driven by Bruce Pascoe. “We’re collaborating with chefs from across the country with very different styles and we’re incorporating Indigenous foods, which naturally flows on from the event’s focus on sustainability,” says Giorgio.

Tickets are on sale now for the two-day festival, which runs on November 25 & 26 at Carriageworks.